Fatfudd

I keep trying to add to this thread but the IFI site keeps crashing, Anywho- I converted a 27 ton sears log splitter to a press this past summer and exceeded my expectations. I removed the wedge and added a die holder to the ram. The die holder and the anvil allows me to put different shaped dies on which can add texture or be used for drawing out or bending The one you see on the press are two 2 1/2 in balls. I also have numerous other dies I have made that can imprint shapes into the hot metal. Here is a pic of the finished metal on a sculpture and another

picture?

Nice anvil- Kinda hard to tell but it could be a Hay Budden. A picture under the horn and one of the base would help.

To be honest, the anvil is in fine condition and BTW you stole it. It is a Trenton. I wouldn't worry about the edges they really aren't that bad.I have used far worse anvils with excellent results. If you just use it with some hot metal the face will clean up very nicely. Good score. Also put down where you are located. You'll be surprised how many of the IFI folks live in your vicinity.

If you want to collect Mousehole anvils give Fred Moore a call, he has quite a few including a nice 650 lb plus one that he is willing to sell. See this youtube video of his collection, the anvil is in the first few frames, Feel free to call Fred at FIVE-ZERO-FIVE 847-TWO NINE SIX TWO (that's from a C-list ad he is running)

I agree with Thomas. Damion, you need to re-read his response, "- in general the smaller the anvil the taller the stand- light work on small anvil, heavy work on tall anvils". Heavy anvils are usually also taller but the stands are by necessity, shorter. I have 4 anvils I regularly work on; the smallest being an 88lb Hay Budden on what would be considered a very tall stand. For me it makes sense, I don't see very well any more, since I'm way over the hill, and I use it for finer detail work. The largest is a wonderful 400lb Fisher that can can take any thing I can dish out, but is on a stand/anvil combination which is about 31" tall, I'm about 6'2" so its kinda low for me but works well. I have 2 other anvils (190lb HB and 330lb Reflinghaus) that are precisely where my hammer face falls perfectly flat on a .5" piece of hot iron. I do almost all of my work on the those two anvils but its really nice to have the others when the need arises. If I only had one anvil it would be where the last 2 anvils are situated. That. being said, they are a little higher than knuckle height sort of in between knuckle and wrist, You have to see where you hammer falls on a piece of metal (of a given height) rather than where your joints(knuckles and wrist) are located. it makes it a lot easier on your back!

There are a number of posts on IFI about resurfacing an anvil. It is way more complicated than what you are proposing but it can be done. I would do a lot of research before you go after the anvil with welding rod and ruin a usable anvil.

Actually you will find Fred quite easy to deal with however he doesn't give away his best anvils. I know him and have dealt with quite a bit. He is clearing out a lot of his anvils but he's hoping for someone to win the lottery and buy them all, He hates the idea of his collection of rare anvils being broken up.

Yep I stand corrected!

That's actually an early Trenton. See the above discussion.

A little more info- The anvil on ebay was supposedly from the Kenneth Lynch "MOB" Swiss Collection although the ebay listing said David Lynch Collection Hopefully that may jar someones memory?

Question for the seasoned smiths that have seen a lot of anvils. I acquired a "stake" anvil today which is unusual. It is a very hard tool steel probably HRC 56+ and is in the south German pattern. I have seen a similar one for sale on ebay a while back for around $500. This one weighs around 50 lbs and is 21.5" long and 3.5 "wide. I haven't taken it off the stand yet so I can't describe the stake. It is beautifully made obviously of high quality cast steel. So have any of you run across anything like this especially our members across the pond? As I said it looks German but then Swedish anvils have been cast in this shape too. I would appreciate your thoughts on this. Obviously, it will be a fantastic tool to use!

Dave- Its a poor example of a Vulcan anvil. It is missing part of it's top plate which was pretty thin to begin with. If you do a little research you can find how most smiths feel about Vulcan anvils. They are better than nothing and some larger ones work well but the one you are looking at isn't much better than a cast iron ASO. You'd be better off finding a piece of railroad track or a block of steel from the scrap yard work one.

Actually Dick is truly a very fine honest person. As we were discussing my anvil purchase he was deeply concerned that I would like all aspects of what I was buying and said that if anything wasn't just what I wanted I could back out of the deal, His words were, "I want a happy Refflinghaus owner". Believe me, I am a very happy Refflinghaus owner! I have had nearly every brand of anvil or used nearly every brand of anvil and none compare to my new anvil. As Yesteryearforge has said in earlier threads, "If I could only keep one it would be one of the Refflinghaus anvils. My favorite is the big Refflinghaus..

After many years of wishing I finally was able to swing the purchase of a new Refflinghaus anvil. I decided that I could part with a lot of duplicate tools and a few of the anvils I had accumulated and called Dick Nietfeld at Shady Grove Blacksmith shop to find out what he had in stock. I wanted at least a 275lb south German pattern (#58) with the small side shelf or something bigger, I had worked on some of Helmut Hillenkamp's anvils last year and knew I had to have that pattern. Dick said he was out of the 275 lb size but had a nice 330 lb (150kg) one with my name on it so I began selling off my tools. It only took about 2 weeks to raise the money and place the order. I received the anvil on Monday after 4 days of shipping. It took a few hours to make the stand and I was able to give the anvil a test drive yesterday, it was every thing I had hoped for. If you are ever in the market for a truly outstanding anvil give Dick a call (check out his website). They may be more expensive than Nimbas, ratholes euroanvils Kanca's and many other fine anvils but I believe the quality and workmanship warrants the price. With the entire face and horn hardened to a depth of one inch of at least HRC 59 the rebound is extraordinary.

The bases on early Trenton anvils and any Hay Budden anvils are so different that they really don't resemble each other. The Trentons have a deep hollowed base while the HB's are very shallow if they have any depression at all. They each had an hour glass shape but that is about the only similarity between them.

Ivan- Where did you come up with the part about Trenton contracting with HB for the bottoms?

Look at pages 324 to 326 especially 326. They may or may not have been made in Trenton NJ. The pics on 326 look a lot like Nankbrown's anvil.

Also, according to info that Postman found they were made in Trenton NJ by Boker before they moved to Columbus. It maybe one of those.

Yep, That's a very early German Trenton, made under or by Boker Excellent anvils.

I would suggest you put your question in the regular anvils section also. I can't really help you but a friend has one and loves it.

Actually some of the Colombian cast steel anvils had letters on them. Also that leg vice looks like a Colombian too.

Has anybody chipped an anvil edge? I have seen some pretty badly chipped edges and I have always wondered what has to happen to chip off an edge.

I had an anvil stamped Phoenix but sold it a while back. It was also stamped in bigger letters MS&G and warranted. Turned out it was a Hay Budden dated about 1898. Here's a few pics-

Never mind- its gone.